


showbiz // phan au

by myhowellslester



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Actor!Phil, BoyxBoy, Dan Howell - Freeform, I still don't understand tags, M/M, Phan - Freeform, Phil Lester - Freeform, also moulin rouge inspired, boutique owner!dan, fashionista!dan, i wrote this one and half years ago it's a mess, la la land inspired
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-01
Updated: 2018-08-01
Packaged: 2019-06-20 07:01:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15528771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myhowellslester/pseuds/myhowellslester
Summary: the one where the owner of a fashion boutique falls for a struggling actor with a notorious side job.





	showbiz // phan au

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey there,  
> i posted this story on wattpad before, so some people might know it already? this is an edited version, but the plotline pretty much stays the same. hope you enjoy it!
> 
> this fic has been inspired by two of my favourite musical movies, la la land and moulin rouge. however, the story isn't really based on them, but you'll see that as it goes on.
> 
> ALSO, some people could probably tell, i got the title of the fic and the titles of the chapters from the album 'showbiz' by muse. like the album has 12 songs, this fic will have 12 chapters. 
> 
> i think that's all you should know for now. tell me what you think after you finished reading! i love reading comments <3
> 
> have a nice day everyone,  
> liz

The man who'd just walked in immediately caught Dan's eye.

There was something about him that just seemed so... so weirdly interesting, Dan couldn't even quite name it, but he wasn't able to keep his eyes off the dark-haired man.

Maybe it was that. The dark hair in combination with the bright blue eyes and the pale skin, like he was some male version of Snow White. Or maybe it was just everything about him. His appearance seemed so unique, so special, and all of that made this man so... so pretty, and Dan simply loved looking at pretty people. Who could blame him?

"Can I help you, Sir?" He'd finally walked over to his new customer, the typical smirk on his lips and asking the question he asked almost everyone finding their way into his little shop at the end of the street.

"Uh... No, I don't think so, but thanks." The man smiled and Dan nodded. "Alright. You'll find me over there if you need anything." He pointed at the counter in the middle of the back wall with a quick movement of his head. The other man nodded and Dan smiled before he turned around to go back to his place behind the counter.

However, he didn't quite reach it because his new customer spoke up again before he could do so. "Well, actually... maybe you _can_ help me."

Dan turned around again, secretly happy to have an excuse to look at the blue-eyed guy with the interesting face again. In moments like these, he felt like the girl starring in one of those high school movies that he hated so much. "Of course. What are you looking for?"

"Well... a shirt." The guy smiled shyly and Dan furrowed his eyebrows. That hadn't been a lot of information to work with. "For what occasion, exactly?" 

Dan turned to look around his shop. What pattern would be best? Which colour suited the man's eyes most? And what colour would work well together with his pale skin tone?

"It's my grandma's birthday next week and we have this huge family gathering..." The guy looked kind of annoyed and exhausted while saying that. Dan wondered why, but of course, he didn't ask. It wasn't any of his business. 

The black haired man continued, "We'll meet in some fancy restaurant, so I'll need a nice shirt."

Dan nodded. He eyed the button-ups, which were all on a rack, colour-coordinated of course, and already got excited. He loved to help his costumers find the right clothes, there was just something about it that was satisfying to him. Figuring out what other people's preferences were when it came to fashion and helping them to look as good as possible was what Dan liked doing.

With his eyes, he searched through the other rail clothing racks until some specific shirts caught his eye. He walked over to them and rummaged through them with his hands until he found one he liked. The black haired man stood behind him, waiting.

"How about this one?" Dan asked and smiled while holding up the blue button up shirt.

Dan had chosen the pastel blue colour because he thought it would match the man's eyes. White probably would have been too bright for his pale skin tone, while black seemed a bit too dark for his hair, though Dan wasn't sure about that. What Dan liked about this shirt in particular, however, was that it had some blue lace instead of normal fabric right above the chest. It made the whole thing look unique in a way.

"I'm not sure," the man admitted, examining the shirt in Dan's hands. "Isn't it a bit too... I don't know, extraordinary for me?"

Dan smiled. That was the exact reaction he had expected. Judging by the clothes he wore right now, he didn't really want to stand out too much, even though he didn't want to be all basic either. It was an inner conflict he had to deal with somehow, Dan could tell, and the guy hasn't quite decided on what he prefers wearing yet.

"Extraordinary is good, trust me. Try it on, it will suit you." Dan gave him his best salesman-smile and his customer eventually gave in.

"Okay, I'll see what it looks like."

Dan nodded and lead him to the changing rooms. He waited in front of it as the other man got changed. Dan couldn't wait to see what his choice looked like on him.

Just after a few seconds, the door was opened again.

He had been right. The guy looked absolutely stunning in that shirt, it brought out his bright blue eyes and the pretty pale skin in a perfect way.

"So? What do you think?" he asked, the smile still on his face.

The man with the blue eyes, now wearing a shirt matching those, looked at himself in the mirror. He smiled a bit. "I actually like it a lot. I didn't think it would suit me but I gotta admit I kind of... like it."

"I think you look gorgeous," Dan complimented, being completely honest. He still had a silent fascination for the other guy's looks, and with the blue shirt, his eyes were standing out even more than before.

The man blushed a bit and looked at Dan. "Thank you."

"No, seriously, I'm being honest. The colour goes really well with your eyes and the lace looks great on your skin. Not everyone can pull that off."

The other guy's face turned even redder when he heard Dan's compliments. When Dan looked at him, he noticed a bit of red skin on his shoulder and on his neck. Probably a sunburn, he thought, and didn't say anything about it. He probably got sunburnt easily with a skin like that.

"I'll go for it then, I think. Or is it too much? I mean, it's my grandma's birthday."

Dan chuckled. "Well, I don't know your grandma, but if she has at least a little bit of a fashion sense, I'm sure she'll love it just as much as I do."

Again the black haired man blushed and Dan couldn't help but notice how cute that looked.

"I guess," the man mumbled and nodded. "I'd like to pay, then."

Dan smiled. "You made the right choice."

His customer smiled a little bit and nodded slowly before he turned around to change again. Dan made his way back to the counter where he waited for the other man to get ready.

Just a few seconds later he walked around the corner, the blue shirt in his hands. He handed it to Dan.

The actual process of buying the shirt didn't take long, obviously. Dan named the price and his customer handed him his credit card and right after the brunette put the shirt into one of the boutique's paper bags. "Enjoy the family gathering," Dan said and smiled, feeling good because he just managed to make another one of his customers happy.

"Thank you, have a nice day!" The man smiled at Dan. It seemed so genuine and cute that Dan felt the need to take a polaroid picture of it. Which, again, made him feel like he was starring in a cheesy teen-movie which Nicholas Sparks wrote the script for.

"Thanks, you too," Dan said and with that, his customer turned around and left the shop with quick steps.

It was moments like these in which Dan knew he'd made the right choices.

Dan Howell was 24 years old and the owner of a fashion boutique close to the centre of London. That had been the one thing he'd kind of always wanted, well not always, he had had this dream of becoming a designer for some time, but when he got older, he realised that he probably wouldn't get anywhere with his dreams, so he decided to become a boutique owner instead. When he found a flat with a little shop right underneath it close to the centre of London, he knew that his chance had come. He rented the flat as well as the shop and shortly after opened up the boutique.

It wasn't the most successful business, obviously, how would it be with thousands of people having the same dreams and ambitions as him, in literally the same city? But Dan made enough money to pay his bills, and the shop was what made him happy. So he knew all the hard work paid off and that all of it was worth it.

"Sorry, I'm late!"

Dan looked up from the counter when he heard Pauline, his employee and friend, once again making an excuse for why she was late for work.

He smiled to himself and looked at the notepad in his hand again. "What was it this time? Did you fall asleep in the library again?" he asked and Pauline sighed.

"Okay, you won't believe this. There was this old man on the bus and he wouldn't-"

Dan chuckled. "It's fine Pauline, just start working."

"But don't you want to know-"

"Can you please do the inventory? You can tell me your story later." Dan still smiled and Pauline readjusted her glasses after she put her dark brown hair in a ponytail.

"It's such a good story, you would absolutely love it."

"Pauline, get to work."

She rolled her eyes and nodded. She took the list and a pen and started checking on the clothes in the shop's stock.

"Why are you smiling like that, by the way? Did something happen while I wasn't here?"

"What do you mean, 'smiling like that'? How am I smiling?"

"I don't know. You look so... inspired, in a way."

Dan looked up from his notepad and furrowed his eyebrows. He chuckled. "What?"

"Dunno." She remained silent for a few seconds. "So, what happened?"

Dan smiled to himself as he continued writing into his notebook. "Nothing, really," but it was pretty clear that neither Dan nor Pauline believed that lie.


End file.
